Sharing calendar information

ABSTRACT

Sharing calendar information may be provided. Calendar information may be shared with individuals that may or may not be associated with a local exchange server in order to coordinate schedules. A determination is conducted to decide whether a sender is authorized to send calendar information to another by examining registration rights. Next, if the registration rights are valid, input may be received from the sender associated with sending the calendar information to another using one or more entry points. Next, calendar information settings are received from the sender, which are used when sending the calendar information to another. Next, calendar information is published to the Internet based on the calendar information settings established by the sender, and provided to others for viewing.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.11/598,866, filed on Nov. 24, 2006, which is incorporated herein byreference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

Sharing calendar information is a process for sending all or a portionof an individual's calendar to one or more individuals. In somesituations, the individual may be required to send calendar informationto someone who is not associated with the individual's local emailserver, for example, a company's exchange server which the individual isan employee. The conventional strategy to address this situationrequires an individual to follow a lengthy series of steps to sendcalendar information to someone that is not associated with theindividual's local exchange server. For example, previous calendarsoftware requires a user to first view a calendar and then select“File-Save a Web page . . . ” After selecting “File-Save a Web page,”the user sets a static time window and picks a file system folderdestination. After picking the file system folder destination, the usersaves the calendar and attaches the calendar as a calendar file to anemail message. After attaching the calendar as a calendar file to anemail message, the user sends the email message to one or morerecipients, and once the one or more recipients receive the emailmessage, the recipients would subsequently have to unpack the receivedcalendar file and place the calendar file into a folder on their filesystem to open the calendar file. If the user changes any calendarinformation after the user sends the email message, the user must send anew email message with the changed calendar information.

In addition, using the conventional strategy to share calendarinformation may require allowing individuals that are not employees,access to an organization's local exchange server, which raises securityissues. Often, the conventional strategy causes problems because theprocess is tedious, confusing, unsafe, and may not reflect updatedcalendar information.

In view of the foregoing, there is a need for methods and systems forsharing calendar information more optimally. Furthermore, there is needfor sharing calendar information with others who are not associated witha local exchange server without exposing the local exchange server toothers who are not currently associated with the local exchange server.It is with respect to these and other considerations that the presentinvention has been made.

SUMMARY

Sharing calendar information may be provided. This Summary is providedto introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that arefurther described below in the Detailed Description. This Summary is notintended to identify key features or essential features of the claimedsubject matter. Nor is this Summary intended to be used to limit theclaimed subject matter's scope.

Calendar information may be shared with individuals that may or may notbe associated with a local exchange server in order to coordinateschedules. A determination is conducted to decide whether a sender isauthorized to send calendar information to another by examiningregistration rights. Next, if the registration rights are valid, inputmay be received from the sender associated with sending the calendarinformation to another using one or more entry points. Next, calendarinformation settings are received from the sender, which are used whensending the calendar information to another. Next, calendar informationis published to the Internet based on the calendar information settingsestablished by the sender, and provided to others for viewing.

In accordance with one embodiment, a method is provided for sharingcalendar information by determining whether a sender is authorized tosend calendar information to another by examining registration rights.If the registration rights are valid, the method also receives inputfrom the sender associated with sending the calendar information toanother using one or more entry points. The method receives calendarinformation settings that are used when sending the calendar informationto another. The method also publishes the calendar information to theInternet based on the calendar information settings established by thesender, and provides access to the calendar information to others forviewing.

Both the foregoing general description and the following detaileddescription provide examples and are explanatory only. Accordingly, theforegoing general description and the following detailed descriptionshould not be considered to be restrictive. Further, features orvariations may be provided in addition to those set forth herein. Forexample, embodiments may be directed to various feature combinations andsub-combinations described in the detailed description.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute apart of this disclosure, illustrate various embodiments of the presentinvention. In the drawings:

FIG. 1 illustrates a networked operating environment where embodimentsmay be practiced;

FIG. 2 is a flow chart of a method for sharing calendar information;

FIGS. 3A and 3B are exemplary screen shots illustrating a user interfacefor use with a computing device;

FIG. 4 is an exemplary screen shot illustrating a user interface forselecting calendar information settings for use with the computingdevice;

FIG. 5 is another exemplary screen shot illustrating the user interfacefor selecting calendar information settings for use with the computingdevice;

FIG. 6 is another exemplary screen shot illustrating the user interfacefor selecting calendar information settings for use with the computingdevice;

FIG. 7 is an exemplary screen shot illustrating an invitation to viewcalendar information for use with the computing device;

FIG. 8 is another exemplary screen shot illustrating a login userinterface for use with the computing device; and

FIG. 9 is a block diagram of a system including a computing device foruse in the networked operating environment of FIG. 1;

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following detailed description refers to the accompanying drawings.Wherever possible, the same reference numbers are used in the drawingsand the following description to refer to the same or similar elements.While embodiments of the invention may be described, modifications,adaptations, and other implementations are possible. For example,substitutions, additions, or modifications may be made to the elementsillustrated in the drawings, and the methods described herein may bemodified by substituting, reordering, or adding stages to the disclosedmethods. Accordingly, the following detailed description does not limitthe invention. Instead, the proper scope of the invention is defined bythe appended claims.

Sharing calendar information may be provided. Consistent withembodiments of the present invention, a method and system for sharingcalendar information is disclosed. Often employees of an organizationare required to coordinate tasks with individuals that are not membersof their organization. Accordingly, when attempting to establish ameeting date and time, an employee may desire the convenience of sendingcalendar information from an application, for example, MicrosoftOutlook®, operating on their computer. However, providing such calendarinformation often required giving individuals that are not employeesaccess to the organizations local exchange server, which may compromisethe security of the local exchange server. In addition, when sharingcalendar information with others, the employee may desire to limit theamount of calendar information that others may view, for example, aparticular calendar time frame and particular calendar informationdetails. Accordingly, an embodiment of the invention may provide a userwith a method of sharing calendar information without giving serveraccess rights to individuals who are not associated with the employee'sorganization and sharing calendar information by specifying how muchinformation is sent to individuals who are not associated with theemployee's organization.

An embodiment consistent with the invention may include a system forsharing calendar information. The system may comprise a memory storageand a processing unit coupled to the memory storage. The processing unitmay be operative to determine whether a sender is authorized to sendcalendar information to another by examining registration rights. If theregistration rights are valid, the system may also receive input fromthe sender associated with sending the calendar information to anotherusing one or more entry points. The system may receive calendarinformation settings that are used when sending the calendar informationto another. The system may also publish the calendar information to theInternet based on the calendar information settings established by thesender, and may provide access to the calendar information to others forviewing.

Referring to FIG. 1, a networked system 100 is illustrated where exampleembodiments may be implemented. Networked system 100 may include aserver 102, a server 104 which manages a database 106, a calendar 108which may be created, edited and displayed using a desktop computer 112,and a laptop computer 114 that may be used to create, edit and displaycalendar 116. Networked system 100 may include a server 152, a server154 which manages a database 156, a calendar 158 which may be created,edited and displayed using a desktop computer 162, and a laptop computer164 that may be used to create, edit and display calendar 166.

Networked system 100 may transmit and receive data to and from othercomputing devices such as the server 102, the desktop computer 112, andthe laptop computer 114. Furthermore, networked environment 100 maytransmit or receive data to a storage system 106, which is managed byserver 104. Networked system 100 may transmit and receive data to andfrom other computing devices such as the server 152, the desktopcomputer 162, and the laptop computer 164. Furthermore, networked system100 may transmit or receive data to a storage system 156, which ismanaged by server 154. Other computing devices may participate in thenetworked system, for example, a thin client connected to the Internet125.

Computing devices connected to the networked environment 100 maycommunicate over networks 110 and 160. The networks 110 and 160 mayinclude a secure network such as an enterprise network, or an unsecurenetwork such as a wireless open network. By way of example, and notlimitation, the networks 110 and 160 may include wired media such as awired network or direct-wired connection, and wireless media such asacoustic, RF, infrared and other wireless media. Networks 110 and 160may be connected to each other over the Internet 125 to facilitatecommunications between network 110 and network 160.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart setting forth the general stages involved in amethod 200 consistent with an embodiment of the invention for sharingcalendar information using a computing device of FIG. 1. Ways toimplement the stages of method 200 will be described in greater detailbelow. Method 200 may begin at starting block 205 and proceed to stage210 where the computing device may be utilized to determine if a userattempting to share calendar information is authorized to share thecalendar information. For example, the user may share their personalcalendar information and customized calendar information created by theuser. Accordingly, the user may enter login information to verify thatthe user is authorized to view and send calendar information. Forexample, the user may be required to enter login information using a webbased authentication application, which is further discussed inreference to FIG. 8. Accordingly, the computing device may be used toexamine user access rights to calendar information. If the user is notauthorized to share calendar information, at stage 215, the computingdevice provides a registration wizard to the user for obtainingregistration information from the user to allow the user to accesspersonal and custom calendar information associated with the user.

If the user is authorized to share calendar information, the method 200proceeds to stage 220 where the computing device receives calendarinformation from the user through one or more entry points. For example,an entry point may include a toggle button with a calendar, a contextsensitive menu, a command well, and a calendar tab. Additionalinformation received at stage 220 may include whether the user intendsto use an online publishing service, for example, Microsoft OfficeOnline, or utilize an existing web server, for example, a company ownedDistributed Authoring and Versioning (DAV) web server that uses ahypertext transfer protocol (HTTP). Next, at stage 225, the computingdevice may receive calendar information settings that may be utilizedwhen sharing the calendar information. The user may use the calendarinformation settings to override default settings for sharing calendarinformation.

For example, a calendar information setting may include a setting a timespan for calendar information that is shared, which is also furtherdiscussed with regard to FIGS. 3A-3B. For example, the user may beconducting a business transaction that may span several weeks. Duringthose several weeks the user may have to attend several meetings withcoworkers and contacts outside the user's organization. Accordingly, theuser may desire to share calendar information for the time span of thebusiness transaction with those outside the user's organization, but notdesire to share calendar information outside the business transactiontime frame. Therefore, the user may set a time frame setting using arolling time window to share calendar information for only the desiredtime frame, for example, 60 days, which is also further discussed withregard to FIG. 4.

A calendar information setting may include a detail level, which is alsofurther discussed with regard to FIG. 5. If the user desires to shareall calendar information with others, the user may select, for example,a “full detail” setting. If the user desires to share some calendarinformation with others, the user may select, for example, a “limiteddetail” setting. If the user desires to merely share availabilityinformation with others, the user may select, for example, an“availability detail” setting.

A calendar information setting may include a privacy setting, which isalso further discussed with regard to FIG. 6. If the user desires toshare calendar information with anyone that may have access to theonline publishing service or DAV server, the user may set the privacysetting to public. If the user desires to share calendar informationwith only designated individuals that are invited to view the user'scalendar information, the user may set the privacy setting to invitationonly.

Next, at stage 230, the computing device may store the received calendarinformation and the received calendar information settings in variety ofstorage locations disclosed in FIGS. 1 and 9. Next at stage 235, thecomputing device publishes the received calendar information accordingto the received calendar information settings. The calendar informationmay be published for viewing using the Internet 125 and the onlinepublishing service or the DAV web server. Subsequently, at stage 240,the computing device may provide access to the calendar information. Ifthe privacy setting is set to public, all individuals that have accessto the online publishing service if used by the user, or the DAV webserver if used by the user, may view the user's published calendarinformation. If the privacy setting is set to private, only individualsdesignated by the user may view the published calendar information viathe online publishing service. The DAV web server may allow individualsdesignated by the user may view the published calendar if the DAV webserver is configured to be responsive to a privacy setting.

Next, at stage 245, the computing device may monitor the calendarinformation to determine if the calendar information has changed. Forexample, after publishing the calendar information, the user may have tounexpectedly travel within the time frame of the published calendarinformation, thereby changing the availability of the user. Accordingly,when the user changes the calendar information using, for example,Microsoft Outlook®, at stage 250, the published calendar information isautomatically updated to reflect the changes entered by the user. Theautomatic update operates using an automated schedule to update thecalendar information via any send/receive operations initiated by theuser through Microsoft Outlook®. Next, the method 200 proceeds to stage255. If the computing device determines that the calendar informationhas not changed, the method 200 proceeds to stage 255. At stage 255, thecomputing device determines if the user desires to continue publishingthe calendar information. If the computing device determines that theuser still desires to publish the calendar information, the method 200returns to stage 245. If the computing device determines that the userdoes not desire to continue publishing the calendar information, atstage 260, the computing device removes the published calendarinformation using an un-publish setting. At stage 265, the method 230ends.

FIGS. 3A-3B illustrate an exemplary calendar user interface 300 for acomputing device of FIG. 1, according to one embodiment. A user may usecalendar 302 to track activities and meetings. For example, calendar 302may be associated with an electronic mail and scheduling application,such as Microsoft Outlook®. If the user desires to share calendarinformation with others, the user may utilize user interface 308 toenter calendar description information. The calendar name may be used tosearch for a particular calendar of interest, for example, the SeattleSeahawks football schedule for the 2006 season. In addition, the usermay view and send personal and custom calendars by selecting a calendarfrom section 304. The user may view additional calendars by selecting acalendar from sections 306 and 310.

FIG. 4 illustrates user interface 308, according to one embodiment. Theuser interface 308 includes a time span selection setting 420, acalendar detail setting 430, a privacy setting 440, a calendardescription setting 450, and advanced calendar settings 460, forexample, upload methods, update frequency and the like. The userinterface 308 may be used to set a rolling time window. The time spanselection setting 420 permits a user to specify durations for whichcalendar information will be shared with others. An implied date rangecreated by setting the durations shifts at a specified time, forexample, midnight, which creates a rolling effect for the sharedcalendar. The rolling time window reduces the amount of calendarinformation because relevant calendar information associated with theselected time span is sent to a recipient instead of an entire calendar.

FIG. 5 illustrates user interface 308 during detail level selection,according to one embodiment. The user may use the calendar detailsetting 330 to select how much calendar information will be shared withothers. For example, is the user is sharing calendar information withothers to coordinate a discrete task, the user may select the calendardetail setting 330, “availability only” 510 to indicate whether the useris “free,” “busy,” “tentative,” or “out of the office”. If the user issharing calendar information internally or externally with subordinates,the user may select the calendar detail setting 330, “limited details”520 to disclose limited details regarding the user's schedule. If theuser is sharing calendar information internally or externally withsuperiors, the user may select the calendar detail setting 330, “fulldetails” 530 to disclose all information regarding the user's schedule.

FIG. 6 illustrates user interface 308 during permissions selection,according to one embodiment. When a user publishes their calendarinformation to the Internet 125, the user may desire to restrict accessto their published calendar information, for example, parents' calendarinformation for coordinating picking up their children. Accordingly, theuser may select privacy selection 610 to allow invited individuals toview the published calendar information on the Internet 125. The usermay desire to allow any individual with access to the Internet 125 toview their published calendar information, for example, the 2006football schedule for the Seattle Seahawks. Accordingly, the user mayselect privacy selection 620 to allow anyone to view the publishedcalendar information on the Internet 125.

FIG. 7 illustrates an exemplary user interface 700 for providing accessto published calendar information to others using a computing device ofFIG. 1, according to one embodiment. If the user has set the privacysetting to private, when the user desires to share information withothers, the computing device presents the users with a sharinginvitation screen 702. Using the sharing invitation screen 702, the usermay enter electronic mail addresses for calendar information recipients.The recipients may or may not be associated with a local exchange serverused by the user. A calendar information link 704 is included in sharinginvitation screen 702 to allow recipients to view the calendarinformation. An invitation message 706 is also included in sharinginvitation screen 702 to provide the recipient with pertinentinformation regarding the user's calendar information.

FIG. 8 illustrates an exemplary login user interface 800 forauthenticating user access rights with regard to sharing calendarinformation using a computing device of FIG. 1, according to oneembodiment. The computing device may utilize authentication dialog 802.For example, authentication dialog 802 may be a web based authenticationapplication. When the user is authenticated, the user may access andshare calendar information created by the user. The computing device mayprovide additional security to prevent the user from sharing calendarinformation received from another user.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram of a system including a computing device 800,which may be used in conjunction with server (102 and 152), server (104and 154), desktop computer (112 and 162), and laptop computer (114 and164). Consistent with an embodiment of the invention, any suitablecombination of hardware, software, or firmware may be used to implementa memory storage and processing unit. For example, the memory storageand processing unit may be implemented with the computing device 900 orany of the other computing devices in combination with the computingdevice 900. The aforementioned system, device, and processors areexamples and other systems, devices, and processors may comprise theaforementioned memory storage and processing unit, consistent withembodiments of the invention. Furthermore, the computing device 900 maycomprise an operating environment for an associated system. The systemmay operate in other environments and is not limited to computing device900.

With reference to FIG. 9, a system consistent with an embodiment of theinvention may include a computing device, such as computing device 900.In a basic configuration, computing device 900 may include at least oneprocessing unit 902 and a system memory 904. Depending on theconfiguration and type of computing device, system memory 904 maycomprise, but is not limited to, volatile (e.g. random access memory(RAM)), non-volatile (e.g. read-only memory (ROM)), flash memory, or anycombination. System memory 904 may include operating system 905, one ormore programming modules 906, and may include a program data 907.Operating system 905, for example, may be suitable for controllingcomputing device 900's operation. In one embodiment, programming modules906 may include a document creation application for creating and editinga document. Programming modules 906 may include a calendar sharingapplication 920 for sharing calendar information with others.Furthermore, embodiments of the invention may be practiced inconjunction with a graphics library, other operating systems, or anyother application program and is not limited to any particularapplication or system. This basic configuration is illustrated in FIG. 9by those components within a dashed line 808.

Computing device 900 may have additional features or functionality. Forexample, computing device 900 may also include additional data storagedevices (removable and/or non-removable) such as, for example, magneticdisks, optical disks, or tape. Such additional storage is illustrated inFIG. 9 by a removable storage 909 and a non-removable storage 910.Computer storage media may include volatile and nonvolatile, removableand non-removable media implemented in any method or technology forstorage of information, such as computer readable instructions, datastructures, program modules, or other data. System memory 904, removablestorage 909, and non-removable storage 910 are all computer storagemedia examples (i.e. memory storage.) Computer storage media mayinclude, but is not limited to, RAM, ROM, electrically erasableread-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory or other memory technology,CD-ROM, digital versatile disks (DVD) or other optical storage, magneticcassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magneticstorage devices, or any other medium which can be used to storeinformation and which can be accessed by computing device 900. Any suchcomputer storage media may be part of device 900. Computing device 900may also employ input device(s) 912 such as a keyboard, a mouse, a pen,a sound input device, a touch input device, etc. Output device(s) 914such as a display, speakers, a printer, etc. may also be included. Theaforementioned devices are examples and others may be used.

Computing device 900 may also contain a communication connection 916that may allow device 900 to communicate with other computing devices,such as over network 110 in a distributed computing environment, forexample, an intranet or the Internet. Communication connection 916 isone example of communication media. Communication media may typically beembodied by computer readable instructions, data structures, programmodules, or other data in a modulated data signal, such as a carrierwave or other transport mechanism, and includes any information deliverymedia. The term “modulated data signal” may describe a signal that hasone or more characteristics set or changed in such a manner as to encodeinformation in the signal. By way of example, and not limitation,communication media may include wired media such as a wired network ordirect-wired connection, and wireless media such as acoustic, radiofrequency (RF), infrared, and other wireless media. The term computerreadable media as used herein may include both storage media andcommunication media.

As stated above, a number of program modules and data files may bestored in system memory 904, including operating system 905. Whileexecuting on processing unit 902, programming modules 906 may performprocesses including, for example, one or more method 200's stages asdescribed below. The aforementioned process is an example, andprocessing unit 902 may perform other processes. Other programmingmodules that may be used in accordance with embodiments of the presentinvention may include electronic mail and contacts applications, wordprocessing applications, spreadsheet applications, databaseapplications, slide presentation applications, drawing or computer-aidedapplication programs, etc.

Consistent with embodiments of the present invention, calendarinformation is shared from an electronic mail and scheduling applicationin a standard calendaring format that may be understood by any othercalendaring application or website that reads an Internet calendarformat. Accordingly, calendar information may be shared with others thatmay or may not be associated with a local exchange server used by theuser thereby reducing security risks because calendar informationrecipients outside the local exchange server do not have access to thelocal exchange server, but may still coordinate scheduling with thoseinside the local exchange server. Also, an organization that allowssharing calendar information may also restrict users from publishingcalendar information to the Internet, may require the user to onlypublish calendar using a private setting, i.e., by invitation only, ordisable sharing calendar information altogether.

A user may publish the calendar information explicitly, or according toa user defined schedule. If the user has scheduled a “send/receive” forthe published calendar information, then a scheduler associated with anelectronic mail and scheduling application will trigger computer codeevery N minutes to publish the calendar information to the Internet. Thecomputer code may also perform the function of determining if the userhas chosen to respect a default publishing frequency for publishing thecalendar information, or if the user will use a user defined publishingfrequency. The computer code may also perform the function ofdetermining if publishing the calendar information should cease becausethe calendar information has been removed. The computer code may alsoperform the function of determining whether the calendar information hasbeen changed, locally or on an exchange server, since the calendarinformation was last published, or whether a date boundary has beencrossed, which would cause the rolling window to adjust. The computercode may also perform the function of exporting the calendar informationinto an uploadable file, and determining if the uploadable file isidentical to a previously published uploadable file.

In addition, the user may publish calendar information on the Internetand maintain online communities in which subscribers coordinatescheduling by receiving calendar information from the user when thesubscriber subscribes to the online community. For example, the user mayestablish a community for a particular online game, for example, Worldof Warcraft. Accordingly, individuals may subscribe to an onlinecommunity created by the user, and may coordinate activities using thepublished calendar information.

Generally, consistent with embodiments of the invention, program modulesmay include routines, programs, components, data structures, and othertypes of structures that may perform particular tasks or that mayimplement particular abstract data types. Moreover, embodiments of theinvention may be practiced with other computer system configurations,including hand-held devices, multiprocessor systems,microprocessor-based or programmable consumer electronics,minicomputers, mainframe computers, and the like. Embodiments of theinvention may also be practiced in distributed computing environmentswhere tasks are performed by remote processing devices that are linkedthrough a communications network. In a distributed computingenvironment, program modules may be located in both local and remotememory storage devices.

Furthermore, embodiments of the invention may be practiced in anelectrical circuit comprising discrete electronic elements, packaged orintegrated electronic chips containing logic gates, a circuit utilizinga microprocessor, or on a single chip containing electronic elements ormicroprocessors. Embodiments of the invention may also be practicedusing other technologies capable of performing logical operations suchas, for example, AND, OR, and NOT, including but not limited tomechanical, optical, fluidic, and quantum technologies. In addition,embodiments of the invention may be practiced within a general purposecomputer or in any other circuits or systems.

Embodiments of the invention, for example, may be implemented as acomputer process (method), a computing system, or as an article ofmanufacture, such as a computer program product or computer readablemedia. The computer program product may be a computer storage mediareadable by a computer system and encoding a computer program ofinstructions for executing a computer process. The computer programproduct may also be a propagated signal on a carrier readable by acomputing system and encoding a computer program of instructions forexecuting a computer process. Accordingly, the present invention may beembodied in hardware and/or in software (including firmware, residentsoftware, micro-code, etc.). In other words, embodiments of the presentinvention may take the form of a computer program product on acomputer-usable or computer-readable storage medium havingcomputer-usable or computer-readable program code embodied in the mediumfor use by or in connection with an instruction execution system. Acomputer-usable or computer-readable medium may be any medium that cancontain, store, communicate, propagate, or transport the program for useby or in connection with the instruction execution system, apparatus, ordevice.

The computer-usable or computer-readable medium may be, for example butnot limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic,infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, device, or propagationmedium. More specific computer-readable medium examples (anon-exhaustive list), the computer-readable medium may include thefollowing: an electrical connection having one or more wires, a portablecomputer diskette, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory(ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flashmemory), an optical fiber, and a portable compact disc read-only memory(CD-ROM). Note that the computer-usable or computer-readable mediumcould even be paper or another suitable medium upon which the program isprinted, as the program can be electronically captured, via, forinstance, optical scanning of the paper or other medium, then compiled,interpreted, or otherwise processed in a suitable manner, if necessary,and then stored in a computer memory.

Embodiments of the present invention, for example, are described abovewith reference to block diagrams and/or operational illustrations ofmethods, systems, and computer program products according to embodimentsof the invention. The functions/acts noted in the blocks may occur outof the order as show in any flowchart. For example, two blocks shown insuccession may in fact be executed substantially concurrently or theblocks may sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending uponthe functionality/acts involved.

While certain embodiments of the invention have been described, otherembodiments may exist. Furthermore, although embodiments of the presentinvention have been described as being associated with data stored inmemory and other storage mediums, data can also be stored on or readfrom other types of computer-readable media, such as secondary storagedevices, like hard disks, floppy disks, or a CD-ROM, a carrier wave fromthe Internet, or other forms of RAM or ROM. Further, the disclosedmethods' stages may be modified in any manner, including by reorderingstages and/or inserting or deleting stages, without departing from theinvention.

While the specification includes examples, the invention's scope isindicated by the following claims. Furthermore, while the specificationhas been described in language specific to structural features and/ormethodological acts, the claims are not limited to the features or actsdescribed above. Rather, the specific features and acts described aboveare disclosed as example for embodiments of the invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for sharing calendar information, the method comprising: authenticating a sender; determining registration rights associated with the sender; determining whether the sender is authorized to send calendar information by examining the registration rights associated with the sender; upon determining that the registration rights associated with the sender are valid, receiving input from the sender associated with sending the calendar information; receiving calendar information settings from the sender; receiving, prior to a publication of the calendar information, a time frame limit for a portion of the calendar information which is shared after the publication, the time frame limit comprising a predetermined time span for sharing the portion of the calendar information; receiving, prior to the publication of the calendar information, a detail level for controlling an amount of the calendar information which is shared after the publication, the detail level comprising a plurality of calendar detail settings, the plurality of calendar detail settings comprising an availability only setting for sharing only the sender's availability within the calendar information, with others; publishing the calendar information on the Internet based on the calendar information settings; and sharing a portion of the published calendar information on the Internet based on the received time frame limit and the detail level.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein receiving input from the sender associated with sending the calendar information comprises receiving an input associated with sending the calendar information to another using one of a plurality of entry points, the plurality of entry points comprising a calendar toggle button and a calendar tab.
 3. The method of claim 1, wherein sharing a portion of the published calendar information on the Internet based on the received time frame limit and the detail level comprises: sharing a portion of the published calendar information by providing access, to only a transaction, from among a plurality of transactions, in the calendar information to another; wherein the access is provided by setting a time frame limit for the portion of the published calendar information using a rolling time window, the rolling time window comprising a plurality of specified durations during which access to the transaction in the calendar information is provided to the another; and wherein an implied date range created by the plurality of durations shifts at a specified time to create a rolling effect for a shared calendar comprising the calendar information.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the published calendar information is associated with one or more online communities.
 5. The method of claim 1 further comprising updating the published calendar information when the calendar information changes.
 6. The method of claim 5, wherein updating the published calendar information when the calendar information changes comprises automatically updating the published calendar information.
 7. The method of claim 5, wherein updating the published calendar information when the calendar information changes comprises automatically updating the published calendar information in response to a send and receive operation.
 8. The method of claim 1, further comprising providing subscription based viewing of the published calendar information.
 9. The method of claim 1, further comprising receiving, in a search engine, a user search for calendar information associated with one or more calendars.
 10. A system for sharing calendar information, the system comprising: a memory comprising a data storage device for storing calendar information, wherein the memory is searchable; a processing unit coupled to the memory storage, wherein the processing unit is operative to: authenticate a sender; determine registration rights associated with the sender; determine whether the sender is authorized to send calendar information by examining the registration rights associated with the sender; upon determining that the registration rights associated with the sender are valid, receive input from the sender associated with sending the calendar information; receive calendar information settings from the sender; receive, prior to a publication of the calendar information, a time frame limit for a portion of the calendar information which is shared after the publication, the time frame limit comprising a predetermined time span for sharing the portion of the calendar information; receive, prior to the publication of the calendar information, a detail level for controlling an amount of the calendar information which is shared after the publication, the detail level comprising a plurality of calendar detail settings, the plurality of calendar detail settings comprising an availability only setting for sharing only the sender's availability within the calendar information, with others; and publish the calendar information on the Internet based on the calendar information settings; share a portion of the published calendar information on the Internet based on the received time frame limit and the detail level.
 11. The system of claim 10, wherein the processing unit, in receiving input from the sender associated with sending the calendar information, is further operative to receive an input associated with sending the calendar information to another using one of a plurality of entry points, the plurality of entry points comprising a calendar toggle button and a calendar tab.
 12. The system of claim 10, wherein the processing unit, in sharing a portion of the published calendar information on the Internet based on the received time frame limit and the detail level, is further operative to: share a portion of the published calendar information by providing access, to only a transaction, from among a plurality of transactions, in the calendar information to another; wherein the access is provided by setting a time frame limit for the portion of the published calendar information using a rolling time window, the rolling time window comprising a plurality of specified durations during which access to the transaction in the calendar information is provided to the another; and wherein an implied date range created by the plurality of durations shifts at a specified time to create a rolling effect for a shared calendar comprising the calendar information.
 13. The system of claim 10, wherein the processing unit is associated with a server that supports a hypertext transfer protocol (http).
 14. The system of claim 10, wherein the published calendar information is associated with one or more online communities.
 15. The system of claim 10, wherein the processing unit is further operative to utilize a search engine to search the memory storage, wherein the search engine searches for calendar information using search criteria associated with the calendar information.
 16. The system of claim 10, wherein the memory storage stores calendar information associated with a plurality of calendars.
 17. A memory device which stores a set of instructions which when executed performs a method for sharing calendar information, the method executed by the set of instructions comprising: authenticating a sender; determining registration rights associated with the sender; determining whether the sender is authorized to send calendar information by examining the registration rights associated with the sender; upon determining that the registration rights associated with the sender are valid, receiving input from the sender associated with sending the calendar information; receiving calendar information settings from the sender; receiving, prior to a publication of the calendar information, a time frame limit for a portion of the calendar information which is shared after the publication, the time frame limit comprising a predetermined time span for sharing the portion of the calendar information; receiving, prior to the publication of the calendar information, a detail level for controlling an amount of the calendar information which is shared after the publication, the detail level comprising a plurality of calendar detail settings, the plurality of calendar detail settings comprising an availability only setting for sharing only the sender's availability within the calendar information, with others; publishing the calendar information on the Internet based on the calendar information settings; sharing a portion of the published calendar information on the Internet based on the received time frame limit and the detail level; updating the published calendar information when the calendar information changes; receiving, in a search engine, a user search for calendar information associated with one or more calendars; and providing subscription based viewing of the published calendar information.
 18. The memory device of claim 17, wherein receiving input from the sender associated with sending the calendar information comprises receiving an input associated with sending the calendar information to another using one of a plurality of entry points, the plurality of entry points comprising a calendar toggle button and a calendar tab.
 19. The memory device of claim 17, wherein sharing a portion of the published calendar information on the Internet based on the received time frame limit and the detail level comprises: sharing a portion of the published calendar information by providing access, to only a transaction, from among a plurality of transactions, in the calendar information to another; wherein the access is provided by setting a time frame limit for the portion of the published calendar information using a rolling time window, the rolling time window comprising a plurality of specified durations during which access to the transaction in the calendar information is provided to the another; and wherein an implied date range created by the plurality of durations shifts at a specified time to create a rolling effect for a shared calendar comprising the calendar information.
 20. The memory device of claim 17, wherein updating the published calendar information when the calendar information changes comprises automatically updating the published calendar information in response to a send/receive operation. 